Gesundheit - Chris Spedding > Reviews > Great live album from "Speddo".

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Great sound, great playing .
Disadvantages:	Not enough tracks .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

CHRIS SPEDDING BACKGROUND INFO

Chris Spedding - Guitarist/Bassist/Singer/Songwriter - is known as one of the U.K.'s most talented and versatile session guitarists, and has had a go at nearly every style of Rock & Roll (and some Jazz) during the course of his varied session work and on/off solo career.

His first instrument was a violin, but he started strumming and picking it like a guitar after hearing and being influenced by early Rock & Roll greats such as Bill Haley and the Comets, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochrane. Judging by the various Chris Spedding recordings I have heard, these influences seem to have stayed with him and have been vital in defining his style and sound.

He finally got a real guitar around age of 13 or 14. Chris was known as "Spud" at that time and formed his first band called The Hot Spuds. After receiving guitar lessons he formed another group called the Vulcans, at a bout this time Chris felt music was about the only thing he was good at and decided to make it his career.

After leaving school Chris then started to play live gigs seriously, first with a Country and Western band called Bill Jordan and the Country Boys, going around playing air force bases. Through doing this he also met some jazz musicians and formed his own jazz bands, followed by a stint playing in the resident band of a cruise liner.

As the UK "Blues Boom" developed Chris found he didn't much like playing in that style and mainly stuck to playing bass, However he was starting to play with much bigger names such as Alan Price, Dusty Springfield and Paul Jones (ex Manfred Mann). At this time Chris got also got into the Motown style of guitar playing with a tight rhythm guitar style that proved to be much in demand for sessions. His name soon got round as a good player doing something a bit different than just trying to play like Eric Clapton.

All this led to bigger breaks such as being invited to play guitar on Jack Bruce's 1969 solo album "Songs for a Tailor". From this Chris was then able to release three solo albums in succession: - Songs Without Words (1970), Backward Progression (1971), and The Only Lick I Know (1972).

Throughout the 1970's Chris worked on sessions and projects almost too numerous to mention but notable examples include: - Harry Nilsson, Elton John, Memphis Slim, Brian Eno, John Cale, and Mickey Jupp.

Another big project for Chris in the 1970's was a band called "The Sharks", also including bass player Andy Fraser from Free. They recorded two albums and toured with Roxy Music. During this time Chris largely concentrated on being just a guitarist in a band and did very little session work. One project he was involved in at this time that most people will be familiar with though is bubblegum group The Wombles! Although in full costume, he can be recognised as the guitarist with distinctive Gibson Flying V guitar. In 1975 Chris had a mainstream solo hit single with "Motorbikin'" a live version of which is on this CD
Chris Spedding played a big part in the Punk Rock era as well by recording and producing the first demo recordings for the Sex Pistols in 1976. These demos led to the band getting a recording contract.

Other band /artists which Chris has produced records for or played sessions for would make an impressive list, some of the more notable and well-known ones are: - Bryan Ferry (solo and Roxy Music), Brian Eno, The Goodies, The Drifters, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Donovan, David Essex, John Cale, Tony Christie, Art Garfunkel, Barbara Dickson, The Vibrators, Mary Hopkin, The Cramps, Bay City Rollers (uncredited!), John Cale, The Pretenders, Joan Armatrading, Tom Waits, Jeff Buckley and Roy Harper. So, whether you have heard of him or not, you will certainly have heard him!

I hope this brief bit of background information helps you understand the key figure involved in the CD and perhaps gives an idea of what to expect.

THE CD ITSELF

GESUNDHEIT - CHRIS SPEDDING

This CD is nicely packaged with a good cartoon on the front cover depicting Chris on a Harley Davidson motorcycle and sleeve notes written by Chris himself on the inside cover.

The concert itself was recorded live in Bremen (don't know which venue though), Germany during Spedding's 1991 European tour. The Chris Spedding Band for this tour was the stripped down "Power Trio" format consisting of Chris Spedding - Vocals & Guitars, Keith Lentin - Bass Guitar and Henry Spinetti - Drums.

The sound quality is excellent and the source material was recorded by Radio Bremen. What I like about this is that it doesn't sound like there have been any overdubs or parts re-recorded, it appears to be a true "Live" album.

First up is Track 1 - WILD WILD WOMEN - Chris introduces the song by saying "That's enough of that wild stuff, I think we're going to play a nice soft, quiet slow song now", he's having a laugh though as this song is a kind of Chuck Berry-esque rocker. Originally on Chris's "Hurt" album from 1977, this is a good opener and the band are as a tight as the proverbial duck's bum.

Track 2 - RIP IT UP - Is a cover of the song made famous by Little Richard, and one would expect another fast rocker. Not so, as the band actually do the song as a slower shuffle groove arrangement. Although you would never expect this song to be played like this, it works very well and features some great understated lead playing from Chris and great backing from the rhythm section.

Track 3 - HEY, MISS BETTY - Originally on Chris's 1978 album "Guitar Graffiti", the live version played here is another good Chuck Berry style rocker, but as it's one of Chris's favourite guitarists in terms of influencing his style of playing this is no surprise. Again, great lead playing by Chris.

Track 4 - MARY LOU - This is a much covered song, two other versions I can think of are by The Steve Miller Band and Bob Seger. Here, the band does a good mid-tempo version. Not to be confused with the Hello Mary Lou song this is the "I'm gonna tell you a story bout Mary Lou. You know the kind of woman make a fool of you" song, nuff said!

Track 5 - SHAKIN' ALL OVER - This is of course a cover of the Johnny Kidd And The Pirates song. Another band famous for doing this live is The Who. The version here is not as wild as the versions by The Who., but nonetheless has a good groove to it and some great bluesy playing.

Track 6 - LOVE'S MADE A FOOL OF YOU - Another cover version, this time of a Buddy Holly song. Once again it's a slower mid-tempo version but gives the whole band a good chance to get into a nice groove.

Track 7 - CATCH THAT TRAIN - From the eponymous "Chris Spedding" album of 1975, the version here once again shows Chris's great combined lead/rhythm guitar work to good effect.

Track 8 - SUMMERTIME BLUES - Another cover of a song, also famously covered live by The Who. Again, not as fast or wild as The Who versions but a great tight rendering of this song.

Track 9 - GUITAR JAMBOREE - Also originally on the self-titled album from 1975, this is one of my favourite Chris Spedding songs, it's about an imaginary gathering of all the best/famous/influential guitarists of the past few decades. In the course of the song Chris name checks lots of famous guitarists and plays a guitar riff in the style of each one. This is very skilfully done and comes with years of experience I suppose.

Track 10 - MOTORBIKIN' - Perhaps his most well known song, due to it being a number 14 hit single in 1975, this is a great version with a scorching guitar sound and some nice bottleneck slide playing.

Track 11 - HURT BY LOVE - A good paced rocker, this song was originally released on the "Hurt" album from 1977 and the guitar sound reminds of Jimi Hendrix's at the Isle Of Wight in 1970.

Track 12 - BABY WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO - This, the last song on the CD originally by bluesman Jimmy Reed was also covered by Elvis Presley. Her, "Speddo" and the boys do a great job and make it their own, features more superb slide playing by Chris.

THOUGHTS / CONCLUSION

I have listened to this CD many times since I bought it and I think it would be appreciated by any fan of rock who appreciates great electric guitar technique which also has a lot of feel as opposed to being flash and gimmicky all the time. However, Chris is certainly no slouch and can play any way that is required for the song. A great mix of original material and cover versions which are played well by a very tight band.

COST

This version of the CD goes for anything from £8.00 to £28.00! However the CD was re-released on a different label, with the same album title and can be bought new for as little as £6.00.